This invention relates to a wire harness surrounded by a foamed jacket having convoluted structure to assist in centering the harness within a mold.
Wire harnesses are utilized in vehicles to route a plurality of wires between several locations. As known, a bundle of wires is typically routed along a path, and is to be fixed to a vehicle component. To protect the wire harness, and to provide several other benefits, recently the wire harnesses have been formed in a foam mold. A foam jacket is formed over the wire harness.
One concern that developed with the development of foamed wire harnesses is the difficulty of centering the wires within the mold during the foaming process.
It was proposed to form convolutes, or indentations into the foam jacket by continuous cylindrical structure formed in the foam mold. The cylindrical structures in the mold center the wire as the foaming operation was occurring. This proposal is disclosed for example in co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/920,458.
As an example, it should be understood that at the convolute portions, the wire may be near the surface, if not actually exposed. With continuous or cylindrical convolutes, there may be some danger of the sheet metal or other structure moving into the conduit and abrading the wire. Some improvements to this basic convolute structure may be desirable.